


Tales of Nopos Lavellan

by orphan_account



Series: Nopos Lavellan [1]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: F/M, My First AO3 Post, My First Work in This Fandom, Work In Progress
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-06-19
Updated: 2015-06-30
Packaged: 2018-04-05 03:18:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,902
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4163688
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The life of Nopos Lavellan as we know, starting shortly before the Conclave that changed his life. Slowburn Cassandra/Lavellan. I plan to make this a pretty drawn out series if I can, but I've never made one longer than 20 chapter before soooo.... yeah. This takes place in a slightly different reality from the one we saw in the Dragon Age: Inquisition game, but THERE ARE STILL SOME SPOILERS. PLEASE DO NOT READ UNTIL YOU HAVE FINISHED THE GAME IF YOU DO NOT WANT THESE SPOILERS.</p>
<p>((Probably will have to change the tags and stuff as I go, I don't plan to keep this rater G the whole time.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Quiet Hero

**Author's Note:**

> warnings* THIS STORY WILL CONTAIN SPOILERS FOR THE PLOT OF DRAGON AGE INQUISITION, but I will try to change them slightly and mark those chapters as I write them just in case.  
> Let me try to explain the way I intend to write this story. I’m going to use a sort of “parallel universe” in which things happen slightly differently from the story in the game, but a few “keystone events and people” [e.x. Corypheus, Haven, Skyhold, etc.] that I think are important enough to be standard across different worlds will be there. Some characters may act a bit differently. Enjoy reading at your own risk!

“Nopos!” Deshana snapped, dark eyes hard like onyx as said archer walked back into camp with his day’s catch still dripping blood drop by drop onto the ground behind him.

“You know the rules! Game comes back to the clan in a sack- you’ll make the rams nervous!” She ranted, taking his game string from him and stuffing it into the empty burlap sack hanging from his belt. Nopos gave an apologetic sort of look and tried to make himself appear smaller- though that was nearly impossible, as he was tall by elven standards. The big ears sticking out of his long hair combed back hair didn’t help either, really. 

With a frustrated growl, Keeper Deshana dragged Nopos back to her tent, dropping his game bag near the entrance.

“Sit.” She commanded. Nopos scrambled to obey, sitting in the middle of the floor and blinking sky blue eyes up at his [now taller than him] Clan Keeper. 

“Nopos, I promised your father I would watch this clan for him before Falon’Din led him from this world. This also means that I promised to look out for you as well, lethallin.”

Nopos nodded. Keeper was never this calm with him after he broke rules. Even small ones. He didn’t even flinch this time when she brought up his father, the former Keeper of their clan. He would never admit it, but he truly loathed that man. Nopos was glad that the Dalish did not use mirrors, but he knew he saw his father’s walnut-tanned skin matched with his chocolate locks, both changed slightly by the sun from long days spent hunting for his clan. Something his father never fully approved of. He kept waiting, hoping that one day Nopos woul-

“-pos? Nopos!” Keeper cried, her pale angry face coming dangerously close to his.

“Did you even hear what I just said?!” She growled, sounding more wolven than elven.

Nopos nodded his head yes, even though they both knew he was lying through his teeth.

“Good then. The others are waiting for you with a small supply wagon. Remember, be wary of the humans. They are more dangerous than they seem. Dareth, lethallin.”

  
  
 

The next few days of travel passed quickly for Nopos- he kept to himself, as he usually did these days. He idly shot at passing game fowl, remembering how Deshana used to love playing with the feathers of birds when they were growing up together. That made him smile a bit. She was always bossing everyone around back then too. It was hard to imagine her not becoming First, becoming Keeper, but still, Nopos could imagine how different his life would have been if nothing had ever changed.

It wasn’t long before they reached the Conclave. The clansmen that came with Nopos had hidden their wagon in the forest, each of them taking turns sneaking in as “servants” through the smaller servant’s doors. They all carried their weapons and armor of course- but they carried them hidden away in crates, as if they were carrying in their “masters” supplies. Once inside, each of them would find a position that was advantageous for their... skillset (Nopos would find higher ground if he could. If not, he would hide in the alcove of a statue across the hall from the doorway where the peace talks were meant to take place)

Hours later, Nopos was pretending to sleep so that people would stop asking him to fetch things for them. He was sitting in the statue’s alcove, bow tucked safely out of sight in the crate full of his armor beside him. He was wearing his usual plain tan tunic and breeches with brass fastenings- a gift from his friend before he left the clan. Of course, being the diligent and devoted spy that he was, Nopos actually  did  fall asleep. By the time he woke up, there was a dead body lying on the floor in front of him. The eyes of an old woman- a chantry mother or sister, perhaps- stared unblinkingly up at him like a pair of marbles that had been bashed against a hard surface until their luster was clouded over with white, just shy of shattering. Her skull itself wasn’t in a much better condition. With a quiet gasp of shock and the sound of a hand clapping over a mouth, Nopos waited- Maker-be-damned big ears actually coming in handy when they told him that no one was around. At least, no one breathing or walking anyways. He hastily threw on his armor- the sash that normally would have gone around his waist to help shield him further from dagger blows was wrapped around his neck like an over-large scarf. He never liked the thing anyhow. It got in the way of his lockpicks. Careful to step over the poor woman on the floor, Nopos crept across the hallway and lightly pushed on the doors leading to the negotiation room- locked tightly, it seemed.

“Why are you doing this? You, of all people!” He heard someone scream from the other side of the door.

“What should I do?” He asked himself, but already he was reaching for the lockpicks at his waist. It was a simple enough lock, and he was able to dramatically burst through the doors without a hitch. He didn’t even stall out when he saw what was going on in there, managing a;

“What’s going on here?!”

and then catching… something up off the floor.

 

~~~~~ 

  
 

“What do you think, Leliana?” Cassandra asked, haunting eyes looming over the elf like he thought only Deshana’s could. Nopos cast his eyes over to the redhead in question, begging her to believe him with his eyes.

“Normally, I would try and seek the truth behind these claims first and foremost. But we simply do not have the time or resources right now.”

“Ugh. Fine then. I suppose we have no choice. Go to the forward camp. I will bring him to the rift.”

Finally snapping, Nopos exclaimed; “Please, I’m telling the truth! That’s all I can remember! I’m-” He was cut off by his own scream as the mark on his hand grew again. It felt like his hand was slowly being swallowed into a mouth lined with dragon’s teeth and Quillback hides.

By the time his vision came back to him, Cassandra had tied his hands and was abruptly hauling him to his feet. He felt like he might vomit. His head was spinning but he managed to stand and walk, the feeling abating after a few minutes. Except for the throbbing in his hand, that was still there. And  FENEDHIS did it hurt.

He didn’t notice he was outside until the sun threatened to scorch out his eyeballs.

“We call it “The Breach”. A massive hole in the sky, bleeding demons and Maker knows what else from the Fade into our world.”

The sun wasn’t what was hurting his eyes. It was like a massive green tornado forming, the same toxic green as the mark on his hand. He could see bits of green flame parting from The Breach, heard the impact as each… thing hit the ground in the distance. He watched as it seemed to pulse slightly, almost in time with the pulsations in his hand, then all thought was gone. He saw pain- so searing that it was his entire mind blanked out along with his knees. Cassandra again roughly pulled him to his feet. He looked at her in bewilderment.

“You really think that I did this? Did that?  Fenedhis  why would would anyone want this?!” He exclaimed, using his marked hand to point at the sky so that it was obvious he was talking about both.

“I am no fool, elf. Something obviously did not go the way you planned it.” She scowled, roughly grabbing Nopos’ arm and dragging him forward.

“We don’t know what the mark or the Breach truly are, or how they got there. The only reason you are still alive is thanks to an Apostate named Solas. He believes that your mark may be the key to all of this.” She explained.

Nopos didn’t hesitate to respond. He knew what Deshana would want him to do.

“I’ll do whatever I can to help. I don’t know if what I can offer is enough, but I’ll wager that even if this thing doesn’t work you could still use a good archer. That is, if you’d rather I die fighting than hang me.” He gave her a slightly lopsided grin, hoping to take some of the life-or-death seriousness out of the moment.

Cassandra nodded her head approvingly, seeming satisfied with his answer as she dragged him through an angry village filled with humans. He could hear hisses of “murderer” “freak” and “knife-ear” flowing through them like wildfire in a drought, and his ears drooped slightly closer to his shoulders as he cast his eyes down at the snow covered path. 

Another characteristic he inherited from his father- Dashana had called them “mood-ears” when she was feeling in a teasing mood. She hardly ever had time to talk to him now, much less tease him. He always broke rules, just to get an excuse to listen to her voice sometimes. Sometimes he really just wasn’t in an obedient mood. Sometimes getting on her nerves made him think of simpler days, and he would smile despite her lecturing.

By the time Nopos was paying attention again, Cassandra was cutting his hands free and promising him a trial, “but nothing more.” With a grim look in his once happy eyes, Nopos nodded, rubbing the indents out of his wrists as best he could before following Cassandra. As they walked past, one of the soldiers sniggered something about him looking like Cassandra’s puppy, which of course did little to help perk his ears back up. He tried to think of happier times as they walked. He hated the weird looks he was getting- not just from humans, but from other elves too. There were a few elves in the ranks of soldiers, after all. Even among elves, the “droopy ears” were usually rare and considered to be a laughable birth defect. Something to do with the way a muscle in the cheeks and forehead was connected or something, it didn’t really matter. What mattered was that he was now lying with his cheek pressed against the ice of a frozen pond, Cassandra was trying to stab some kind of Shade, and there was a bubbling patch in the ice nearby that told him he was about to be in a bit of trouble. Standing up and frantically looking around, he found nothing even remotely weapon-like. 

With a screech, a small Pride demon [Well, small for a Pride demon. It looked… different than others. Like it was sick somehow. Maybe it hadn’t come into this world the way it was supposed to?] popped into the world, it’s electric eyes locked onto Nopos like he was the most delicious thing on the menu. Before he had time to react, the demon backhanded him into the wall- or maybe it was more the ground? The bridge had collapsed under them. That’s how they ended up on the ice. Either way, it hurt but Nopos was more than happy to have the wind knocked out of him rather than have a broken bone right now. Of course, laying on your side on the ice gasping for air was not the best course of action when one of the cruelest demons known to the world was looming above you, reaching towards you with a telltale crackle of sparks on it’s fingertips…

Somehow, Nopos managed to drag himself up just enough into a crevice from the bridge collapse that the demon couldn’t quite reach him.

“GASP.  cass-  GAsP  CASSAN-  cough COuGh” He wheezed, praying to the Maker that somehow she would hear him. At this point it seemed like she was his only hope. 

Of course, when he thought it couldn’t get worse, it did. Nopos was frozen in terror as the cackling demon focused a ball of electricity in it’s stone-grey grip, shoving it’s hand into the hole as close as it could get to the elf. Nopos scrabbled savagely against the stone wall behind him, desperate for a miracle at this point. Outside, he heard Cassandra shrieking his name and hitting the demon with her sword, but the thing just chuckled louder and used the other hand to shift the stones that made the “roof” of Nopos’ shelter, getting those last few needed inches and grabbing the elf by his hip.

To Nopos, it felt like the entire word had stilled. He could  feel  sparks in every inch of his body. Felt his brain become a an oyster- thinly shelled, not nearly enough to protect itself, shattered like glass when you hit it just right. Then it was burning, he could smell smoke- probably his clothes, he realized- and then there was nothing. The last thing he felt was the demon roaring in pure anger. Cassandra must have finally gotten its attention, he tried to chuckle but he was frozen. He could see small aftershocks arching off of his body and into the stone and ice around him. He should be dead right now, and yet-

His mark. His mark was dragging electricity into it like it was hungry, starving for any source of power it could find. It ate it all up. For the moment it seemed satisfied with what it was given, because the next time Nopos was able to hear the boom of the Breach expanding, his hand didn’t hurt. Or maybe he was just in so much pain he couldn’t register it any more. At any rate, Cassandra appeared to have gotten some kind of reinforcements- he could see the demon had chunks of ice and arrows protruding from its body now, and it didn’t look like it would last much longer with the gash Cassandra had managed to put in one thigh.

The Breach expanded one last time as she stooped to try and drag his lanky form out of the small “cavern”, and this time he felt it expand with a vengeance as he blacked out.


	2. Thunderstruck

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Still basically following the storyline of the games, but I've thrown my few twists in already so let's see how they take root, shall we? :3
> 
> A.K.A. the chapter where Nopos gets his scar. If you don't know what a real lightning scar looks like, here is a link to the picture I was thinking of, but it would start on his hip not his shoulder and then spread out across most of his torso- http://cdn0.lostateminor.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/lightning-strike-scar-lichtenberg-figure-2.jpg

Everything was green. His shoulders felt sore. His hips stung the way his face had when he was honored with the faint brown filigree-esque elfroot leaf on his forehead that he thought always looked like some kind of crown, and was most proud of because it was so different from his father's full-facial tree tattoo. That was what Nopos was thinking while trying to wake himself up. The snow, the ground, everything that was around him was bathed in green. Why? Where was he? An elf with he same skin tone as Deshana peered over him from the corner of his eye.

Sitting bolt upright from where he had been lying on the frozen lake, Nopos was immediately "greeted" by the other elf, whose head he knocked directly into with an audible sound. Cassandra and a dwarven archer stood nearby, standing defensively around the two elves like they were in the middle of a fight.

Oh. Wait. FenEDHIS.

“Hamin, friend.” The stranger spoke quietly, as if Nopos were a Halla on the verge of running over a cliff. Which wasn’t far off from how he felt right then, actually. Nopos remained silent for a moment, so the elf continued.

“Apologies. My name is Solas. It is good to see that you are awake at last."

Still slightly bewildered, Nopos stared at him with wide ocean eyes and rasped out the first thing that came to mind;

“Ir abelas. Ma... melava halani?” He began in elvish, then noticed the way Cassandra glared at him before continuing “…How long was I unconscious? What’s going on? Do I know you?”

“Yes. And I know you in a way. I was allowed to-“

“He means, ‘I kept that thing from killing you while you went and took a nap on us.'” The dwarf cut him off.

“You have only been asleep for a few minutes.” Cassandra added in "After we heard you scream when the Pride Demon grabbed you, Solas was able to throw a barrier over you and shield you from some of the damage. I was then able to drag you out of the wreckage you had hidden in once we killed it, but you had already been badly damaged by the time we got to you.” 

Damaged? He felt… well, he wasn’t dead. He looked down, inspecting himself and took note of the hand-shaped burn on his left hip and part of his thigh, of which a good deal of skin was visible thanks to the state of his clothing. His skin was about the same shade as it should be given the amount of burns that should have been there from that blighted demon, but the only indication of the attack he could see was an almost vallaslin-like mark through the blackened cloth. With panic still blurring his motions, Nopos gave a hiss at his sore muscles but was able to lift his shirt enough to get a clear look at his injury. There he found that most of his body was now covered in an angry red design like snowy vines clinging to a tree branch. It would have been beautiful if it had been intentional. Cassandra didn't turn around and the dwarf’s eyes widened before he retrained them over a hill where a Wraith was drifting about. 

“My apologies, I am afraid I was unable to cure you of that particular injury. This is the path the lightning took through your body. Your burns are mostly healed as are your cracked bones, but I’m afraid nature will have to take it’s course with scars and soreness. It’s quite fascinating, really the way magic can-"

“Chuckles, as much as I love to talk, maybe we should get to that rift and see if he can close it up now that he’s awake?” The dwarf questioned over his shoulder. He fired an arrow… no, wait, a crossbow bolt? Interesting… at the wraith as it crested over the hill and seemed to kill it.

“Thank you so much for allowing me to speak with Nopos, Varric. I apologize if I am starved for conversation with one of my own people, if this is what is inconveniencing you so.” The elf snapped, obviously irked at having been repeatedly interrupted.

“Can you stand?” The dark haired warrior then asked Nopos, holding her hands out to first Nopos and then Solas, hauling the two elves back to their feet.

“I’ll be fine, I think. I’d feel better if I had a bow and a quiver full of arrows with me.” Nopos threw out a lopsided grin, trying to cover up his slight grimace as he put weight on his left side. His shoulders felt much stiffer than usual. Maybe because he had metal plating there? Would the lightning have bounced back and forth between skin and metal like that?

“Here. I found this on a fallen soldier on the way over here.” The still unnamed dwarf replied, tossing him a sturdy bow and a full quiver of arrows that he pulled from seemingly out of thin air.

“Varric, no. He is a prisoner- I will not allow him to go armed.” Cassandra scowled.

“Seeker, you didn’t do a stellar job of protecting him last time a demon attacked. You can’t expect him to be defenseless. Besides, you said he came willingly! Give hime a chance! You gave me one!”

Nopos put up his hands and moved to stand between the arguing pair “It’s alright- Varric, was it? If Cassandra wishes me to go unarmed I will not argue. It was mostly a joke.” Nopos interjected before Cassandra could argue back with the dwarf.

With another small smile, Nopos took the first few shaky steps forward before Cassandra sighed, called “Wait” in a deflated voice, picking the bow and quiver off the ground and bringing them to him.

“Varric is right, I cannot expect you to be defenseless. My mistake nearly cost you your life. If not for Solas and Varric coming to look for me, we both would have been defeated by that creature… You have earned enough of my trust to carry this... Do NOT make me regret it.” She shoved the bow at him roughly, but he had already gotten the quiver onto his back. It felt different in his hand than the ornate bow he was used to, the one he had carved himself, adding to the design each time they sat in wait of game to walk by from the tree tops... For the first time he wondered if any of his clansmen had managed to escape the Conclave in time... And then he wondered if he would ever see his favorite bow again.

Cassandra turned and wordlessly led them up the hill, closer to the green glow in the distance. It wasn’t long before they ran into the next pack of demons, but they were easily dispatched. Just a few green wraiths that did little more than scratch the four of them, but they made good target practice for the elven rouge as he adjusted to his new weapon. About halfway up what Cassandra assured all of them was the last hill, Nopos felt his bad leg beginning to act up. Suddenly feeling too embarrassed to ask if they could take a break or slow down when he knew that they needed to get to this “rift” as quickly as possible, Nopos stayed silent and tried to use his bow as a sort of walking stick- which of course caught the Seeker’s attention each time the metallic covers at the tips caught the stoney steps.

“Ugh. Varric, take the lead.” She huffed, but neither of the other two men looked back or questioned her as she moved back and pulled the elf’s arm over both of her shoulders. Time passed quietly like that for a while, Varric leading, Solas keeping pace with him, and Cassandra half-dragging Nopos with her long, determined strides all the way up the hill until they reached what Cassandra immediately called “the rift”, though Nopos had seen several more of these things through the trees, so it couldn’t be the only one…

“Quickly! See if your mark can seal it before more demons come out!” Cassandra called, acting like she thought he had any idea how to use the thing. Her eyes were the same color as Deshana's.

“Varric, be ready! Solas, do you have any idea how this thing might work?” She yelled over the sound of impending demons. She released Nopos from her grip, making sure he was able to stand alone before moving closer to the demonic growls coming from the glowing tear.

“May I?” Solas asked, holding out his hand. Nopos quirked an eyebrow in response, but then placed his newly marked hand in the other elf’s much paler one. 

And of course, that was the exact moment that more demons decided to pour out of the rift. Solas spun around, walking just far enough away from Nopos that he wouldn’t hit him with his staff as he flung chunks of ice at the enemy, knocking one monster clear across the field before it became entirely frozen solid, then shattering to the ground and moving on to the next beast. Cassandra charged the largest of the creatures while Varric fired at the last of the blighted things, so Nopos did his best to provide support to Cassandra in the absence of other enemies. It felt strange for him to not move or run about as he fired arrow after arrow into the creature, doing his best not to hit Cassandra. Normally he wouldn’t have even been worried, he was easily the best archer in all of the Dalish clans- he could shoot a bird in the eye at a hundred paces if he needed to- but his hands were much shakier than normal, he couldn’t see quite as sharply as he usually could. He chalked it up to exhaustion and his injuries. It still felt like he had static crawling around him like fleas on a Mabari in the summer. Especially on the metal plating over his shoulders. 

The second wave of demons came through the rift, Cassandra slicing into the spindly legs of a Lesser Terror while Solas attacked a rage demon and Varric's bolts sank deeply into a Despair demon. The last enemy was again a weak Wraith, which Nopos dispatched with ease before moving on to help Varric. However, Nopos then heard Cassandra grunting and growling in annoyance across the field, glancing over to find that her opponent had the nasty habit of disappearing and reappearing in her blindspots, leaving her with several deep scratches in her armor but no serious damage yet. Cassandra wordlessly locked eyes with the archer, and both nodded to the other in understanding. Cassandra would defend him if he defended her. So he shuffled his feet, shifting around so that when the demon again arose behind Cassandra, claws perfectly poised to swipe her head away from her shoulders, he sent the strongest arrow he could- drawing back his bowstring and pouring every available ounce of focus he had into that one shot. He would not let this thing kill her. Not today. Not ever. It took most of his energy and he felt as though both his hand and the markings on his torso had again been lit aflame, nearly taking the one bad leg out from under him again. The thing shrieked and died with Nopos’ arrow sticking out of the other side of its skull. Cassandra gave him an impressed looking half-smile in thanks, then charged over to the nearly dead Rage Demon to finish it off.

Finished with his own fight, Solas again grabbed Nopos’ marked hand, holding it up towards the angry rift as if his life depended on it. Which might be true if too many more demons came through, actually… Once again, his hand lit up like it was being eaten inside out by a Dragonling- but it hurt slightly less this time. It wasn't so painful he fell over or blacked out again. He could literally see the energy that the mark sucked out of the rift, eating it just as it had eaten the extra electricity that should have killed him. With a loud BANG the rift trickled out of existence while at the same time Nopos yanked his hand away from the searing pain, feeling like his palm was still being cooked in hot grease even as the lights faded. 

Staggering back a step, Nopos panted and tried to keep his leg from quivering under his weight. Unsuccessfully, apparently, because even as the Seeker called for the fortified gates in front of her to be opened she was running back to his side.

“I must meet with Leliana so that we can decide how best to get you back to the Conclave. There is another rift there that you must seal, now that we know how to seal them. It is not the largest of these rifts, but it is the first, and closing it may close the Breach as well.” Cassandra explained. 

“What happens to me after I close the Breach? Do you still think me guilty?” Nopos asked, turning his innocent eyes on her as they hobbled along.

The Seeker’s gaze hardened. He had no more arrows.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I plan to update this at least once a week, I'll probably push out either just this chapter or like a million this week because I'm on vacation with my family. It'll go a bit slower once I get to the points in the story I haven't been through with Cassandra yet and her romance, I got a bit obsessed with a certain former templar and then a specific Tevinter Altus :3
> 
> So, here you have it! Enjoy! Thank you to Stunner911 and nugget4ever7, as well as those three anonymous people who left kudos within hours of publishing the first chapter, I hope you guys keep reading and enjoying this story, where ever the heck it ends up.
> 
> Also, please leave comments at the end! If anyone wants to see something appear in the story just let me know :) I haven't written fanfiction since middle school so please pardon and point out my rust if you see it XD


	3. Urthemiel, The Most Graceful of the Old Gods

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eh. Sort of a filler chapter. Nopos is a cat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this one is so short! I have the next part of this written but it doesn't flow the way I want it to... Also, I read through some of my older works from dA and I think I'm starting to get back into the swing of writing again. If you notice a difference in my style in this chapter versus the others, please let me know and if most people like the "newer" way I write I'll be happy to edit the other chapters. Thanks to everyone for reading this!

“Ah, Cassandra. Good. Now that you’re here you can call the retrea-” A man began, but stopped cold when his eyes crossed the olive-skinned elf hanging off of the Seeker. Finding a crate nearby, Nopos gratefully sat down, taking his bow and quiver off his back and laying them in his lap. The Chantry brother’s eyes grew even wider, if that were possible.

“Chancellor Roderick, this is Nopos Lavell-”

“I know who he is. Cassandra, have you taken leave of your senses?! Why is he not bound, or, better yet, why is he armed?! I order you to take this criminal to Val Royeaux to be charged and executed for the explosion and deaths at the Conclave!” He ranted for a moment, gesturing wildly as he spoke as if that would help to get his point further across. Honestly it just seemed like it was making Cassandra more and more irritated, if her eyebrows were anything to go by.

“I do not take orders from you, Roderick. You are a glorified clerk!” The Seeker cried, eyes blazing like storm clouds as she seemed to become taller, more intimidating with each step she took towards the (now cowering) Chantry clerk.

“We must retreat! Our position here is hopeless! We are of no use to anyone if we are dead!” He whined, while Cassandra growled in annoyance.

“Cassandra, calm down.” The redhead intervened. Nopos hadn’t quite caught her name. “Roderick,” She began, nightengale’s-eyes focusing on the man “ We serve the Most Holy, as you well know. You do not have any authority to command Cassandra and I, and you do not have the authority to judge this man. If you are not going to help us, then leave us be so that we can save these people. We have not lost all hope yet.” She finished, pushing him aside to take a closer look at the maps spread out on the table.

“If we take the mountain pass here, while our troops charge as a distraction, we may be able to make it to the Temple of Sacred Ashes unharmed.” She explained after a moment of thought.

“But that is not the quickest route, Leliana. We should charge up the mountain with the troops.” Cassandra chipped in.

“If you do that, even with all of your troops, you will die Cassandra! End this madness, I beg you!” Roderick pleaded.

Again, the Breach expanded at just the right moment in the conversation, but this time Nopos was ready for the feeling that came with it. He held his wrist to keep his hand from shaking completely out of control, and clenched his teeth tightly to keep his cries inside. It wasn’t as bad as the previous times- perhaps he was growing used to the feeling of having his hand split in half by this strange mark?

Cassandra turned her head at the sound of magic crackling, watching Nopos with interest.

“How do you think we should proceed?” She asked.

“Me? Really? I don’t know anything about war- I’m just a Dalish hunter. Most of the time I shoot animals, not people.” He tried. he knew it wouldn’t work. He was the only one who could seal that rift, it seemed. He was the one who had to break their deadlock.

“You are the only one who has any control over these rifts, lethallin.” Solas reminded him.

“You’re also the one we need to keep alive. In case you haven’t noticed, things were only getting shittier until you started plugging up Fade-leaks.” Varric added, which made Cassandra glare at him. Nopos got the feeling that she just all together loathed the dwarf.

He looked at the hole in the sky, the demons falling from it, then looked at the mountain they had to climb.

“One way or another, I need to get up there. I say we charge with the troops.If I’m going to die, I’d rather die knowing I at least tried to help.” He finished, standing up and testing his bad leg. It wasn’t as painful as it had been before, but it felt like it could do with a good stretch.

“I will find you an undamaged set of armor before you head out. I suggest we all prepare for the fight ahead- it will not be easy.” Leliana advised as the group began to part ways for the moment.

“I will see if I can find you a glove to conceal your mark, as well. For all we know, demons may target you for it.” Cassandra added as she walked off, grabbing some more potions along the way.

Standing up and returning his bow to his back, Nopos went in search of something that might help dull the ache in his muscles a bit. There wasn’t much he had access to, especially with all the venomous stares he was getting, but he was able to find a little bit of Elfroot leaves and some Embrium stalks that he managed to chew up and swallow despite the bitter taste. After that there was little else to do but try to stretch his arms and legs, so he did what he would do after a ram head-butted him back home. He found a narrow(ish) ledge, in this case the side of the bridge that the camp was set up on, and walking along it with his arms spread out as if he were walking along a tree branch.

He took deep breaths, walking from one side of the bridge until he was about half way across, then stopping and letting his legs widen until his thighs touched the snowy surface. He let his weight go until he sank all the way to the ground, his bad leg burning but at the same time feeling better from the stretch. He wiggled his toes a bit, stretching the muscles as far as they could go, then rolling backwards on the railing before going up into a handstand. The ghost of a smile passed his lips as he recalled the very first time he was able to do moves like this, in front of Deshana of course- she had the whole clan calling him Urthemiel for months. Being so agile came in handy for him in more ways than just showing off for a pretty girl, however. Nopos was famous among the Dalish clans they had encountered for his... unusual style of hunting.

There was a set of slow claps behind him, snapping Nopos out of his thoughts as he looked to find a smirking Cassandra with a thick pair of gloves tucked under her arm.

“Most impressive.” She grinned.

With a slight grin of his own, Nopos pushed himself off the edge and easily backflipped on to his feet in front of the Seeker.

“Enjoying the show, were you?” He teased, smirking when Cassandra gave a slight roll of her eyes. She smiled a little and handed him the gloves despite any annoyance she may have felt. 

“Here. perhaps these will keep your aim from wavering and cutting my hair.” She smirked at Nopos’ shocked expression.

“Did I hurt you? I know it was a close shot but I was sure I’d found a gap- … You’re joking, aren’t you.”

He deadpanned.

Cassandra’s grin simply widened as she turned and marched away.

“We are ready to depart when you are. Unless you wish to climb a tree in search of birds, that is.” She called over her shoulder as she picked her shield up from where she had left it against a crate. Solas and Varric were already waiting near the large doorway to... whatever it was that lay beyond. One thing was for sure- If they all survived this, Nopos was going to need several large pints of ale at the end.


End file.
